Meet the YNPN Pilot Coaches

Meet the YNPN Pilot Coaches

Earlier this month we announced the launch of the very first YNPN coaching pilots! We're excited to partner with Karen Ramsey of Lead for Good and Alicia Jay with RabbleUp to offer these special group coaching opportunities at a discounted rate for young nonprofit professionals.

We wanted to take a moment to introduce Karen and Alicia so you can get to know the coaches supporting these pilots. Read on to learn more about why Karen and Alicia are so passionate about their work developing emerging leaders!

Karen Ramsey, Lead for Good

Karen Ramsey, President & CEO of Lead for Good

Why are you passionate about coaching?

I worked as a human resources executive in the private sector for several years and was lucky enough to have a coach. With the help of my coach, I made the decision to change careers and work in the nonprofit sector. That was 13 years ago! Now as a credentialed coach myself, I find great satisfaction in offering coaching to nonprofit professionals who are looking to grow and explore their personal and professional hopes and dreams. My passion is around leadership development and there is nothing more rewarding than having someone I’ve worked with get promoted or land their dream job.

How long have you been coaching?

I’ve been coaching for nine years. One of my most rewarding activities is serving as the Chair of the Nonprofit Community of Practice for the International Coach Federation. Through this work, I get to interact with coaches from all over the world!

What's one of your favorite coaching success stories?

There have been many, many success stories as a result of Lead for Good’s peer-networking team coaching cohorts. In one recent group I coached, a participant worked on becoming clear about what type of position would be most enjoyable for her, and she ended up leaving fundraising and pursuing (and getting!) a job as a marketing professional. She said because she invested in self-reflection and participated in a visualization exercise we did during the group coaching, she was able to very clearly articulate why she was the right candidate when she interviewed for a marketing position. She credited her new-found confidence and conviction for landing the job.

What are three words that describe you?

Caring, compassionate, open.

What do you do when you're not coaching?

I am an avid exerciser including weightlifting and water sports. I love to travel and explore different lands and cultures and I really enjoy playing games, especially cards. I also do quite a bit of volunteer work supporting both the South Sudanese Community and serving on the Board of Directors of the von Hippel-Lindau Alliance.

Alicia Jay, RabbleUp

Alicia Jay, Founder & Principal of RabbleUp

Why are you passionate about coaching?

I have found that coaching is one of the most effective tools to make change in your life. It's personalized, deeply compassionate, and action-oriented. You have someone metaphorically holding your hand for an hour, helping you to make decisions, understand yourself more completely, and ultimately feel true alignment with the direction your life is moving in. For me, it is an absolutely spiritual experience to work with someone through that journey. It is, what I would call, my capital "P" Purpose. We all need that kind of reflection and support sometimes. It's not about turning the light on, it's about making the light shine brighter.

How long have you been coaching?

I started coaching about 6 years ago when I worked for a leadership development organization called Young People For. I launched Rabble Up in March 2013 after years of seeing a large gap in the field of training for emerging progressive leaders. After working as a practitioner, and then as a funder to the leadership development field, it became clear that there was a lack of holistic, transformative, and individualized resources for those folks looking to build a career in the social change movement. The resources that do exist, are primarily for very-seasoned leaders and are usually extremely cost prohibitive. At the same time, non-profit and social change organizations are somewhat out-of-sync these days with the values that we purport to live by-- the hours are too long, the pay is too low, and the cultures of our organizations are lacking in inspiration. I've personally experienced this for years myself. Rabble Up is designed to provide coaching and training for a very specific audience-- emerging social justice leaders interested in both their internal and external worlds, who want to pave a different path towards personal sustainability and happiness.

What's one of your favorite coaching success stories?

I was working with someone about a year ago who was having a rough time on the job search trail, a common story. He had already been searching for about 4 months, and was reaching his financial breaking point. I asked him to put aside the specifics of the resume, cover letter, and networking for the first three sessions. He obliged, with skepticism. We worked to uncover the underlying forces: How this job search was bringing up his own fear of rejection, the deeply ingrained beliefs that he didn't deserve his dream job, and the fact that networking as an introvert is extremely draining. These elements are what I call the "real work."

After we started peeling back these layers, we then got really clear about why a new job would better align him with his deepest values. We set realistic goals, and a few weeks later he had lined up several interviews. I like this story because it's not just about getting a new job. It's about the willingness to look inward, acknowledge and send love to what you find there, and move forward in better touch with that innate wisdom. Those are the real tools that serve us every day.

What are three words that describe you?

Old-soul, alive, loving.

What do you do when you're not coaching?

My happy place is on a hiking trail with my partner and our dog. Aside from that, you'll find me cooking, reading furiously, taking a stab at painting, and maybe some Scandal and solo dance parties in my living room, here and there. I'm also working to co-found an amazing new national campaign on women's economic justice, called Make It Work (stay tuned, we're launching in the Spring!).